


I wanna watch the tide roll in

by petalrock



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Bella has been nothing but nice to me since we met and this is how i repay her, Fish, I am so sorry, T for language i cuss a lot i apologize, That is the funniest thing I've ever typed, This is for Bella because I never would have thought to do this otherwise, Zack Merrick/Me, and zack merrick, i love fish, literal garbage meet cute, snorkel au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28891473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalrock/pseuds/petalrock
Summary: The waves are a little choppy, so you keep your mask on as you take off your fins and wade in. You exit the water, take about five steps, and immediately collide with a brick wall. Flying backwards, you’ve resigned yourself to becoming one with the sand when your descent is halted abruptly.“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!”Did someone just catch me? Is this a goddamn Hallmark movie? What the fresh hell?Back on your feet, you take a look at who caught you and realize that yes. Apparently this is a goddamn Hallmark movie. Because the brick wall you ran into turns out to be an extremely beautiful man.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	I wanna watch the tide roll in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bellawritess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellawritess/gifts).



> So. This is the product of chugging a Diet Conk and walking into the ocean for an hour. I really don't have a whole lot to say except that I think this is funny and I hope it makes you laugh as well. Deuces mooses.

_This is why I applied to grad school in Hawaii and not Alaska_ , you think as you watch a sea turtle nibble on some unfortunate coral. _I can snorkel without freezing my fucking balls off. Also, the sun doesn’t go down at 3pm in the winter._

The reef this morning is resplendent. The coral in Kahana Bay is some of the healthiest in the Hawaiian islands, and it certainly looks it with its vibrant corals and fish. It’s a fucking shame that student housing wouldn’t cover the cost of a rebreather so you could just live underwater. You had passed a nice looking cave a while back. Maybe the moray eel living there would let you split rent.

You leave the turtle to its cnidarian buffet and cruise along back towards shore. A couple of spotted boxfish pass along beneath you, sucking up rocks off the seafloor and spitting them back out.

 _Stupid little babies,_ you think fondly _. I fucking love fish._

A barracuda is watching you from between some rocks a few feet away. You flip it off.

_Fuck barracudas. All my homies hate barracudas._

As much as you’d like to stay in the water forever, your stomach is growling and it’s generally frowned upon to just, like, grab a fish out of the water and snack on it. Coral stings and rocks have zero nutritional value, so your only option is to get back to your apartment. You sigh into your snorkel and kick back towards shore.

The waves are a little choppy, so you keep your mask on as you take off your fins and wade in. You exit the water, take about five steps, and immediately collide with a brick wall. Flying backwards, you’ve resigned yourself to becoming one with the sand when your descent is halted abruptly.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry!”

_Did someone just catch me? Is this a goddamn Hallmark movie? What the fresh hell?_

Back on your feet, you take a look at who caught you and realize that yes. Apparently this is a goddamn Hallmark movie. Because the brick wall you ran into turns out to be an extremely beautiful man. He’s six something feet of muscle and ink and— _Why is his face so blurry? The fuck? Is he okay?!_

 _Oh. I’m still wearing my fucking snorkel mask. I’m going to kill myself._ You rip your mask off with enough force to open every pickle jar ever made all at once.

“No, I’m sorry for walking out of the ocean without watching where I was going like a fucking miscreant,” you say.

_Miscreant? Who the fuck says ‘miscreant’? Shut up. Do not scare away the pretty man._

Luckily, he laughs like you’ve just invented comedy.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You went down pretty hard.”

“Technically, you caught me before I went down, so I’m doing just fine.”

Now that your mask is off and your vision restored, you can confirm that this man is, in fact, beautiful. He’s really tall and tan and his eyes are a deep hazel and _Christ on a bike_ is that a nose ring? The artwork on his skin rivals the beauty of the coral reef. And he’s—

“Taking your trash for a walk?” you ask, because you are insufferable. Brick Wall laughs again.

“Beach cleanup,” he says, lightly shaking the bag of literal garbage he’s holding. Mentally, you make a pact with yourself to never speak again. “So actually yes, I am taking this trash for a walk.”

You crack a smile. “That’s very nice of you. You’re a very responsible trash owner,” you say.

 _I’m a lunatic_ , you think. But Brick Wall smiles wider. He has a really nice fucking smile. And eyes. And arms. And abs. And—

“Thanks,” he says. His eyes are definitely sparkling. Nice. “Have you been to Kahana before? I feel like I would have noticed you.”

His eyes drop down for a second and then right back up to your face. Your brain makes the Windows shutdown noise. All you hear is radio static for about three seconds before all systems come back online.

“Actually, this is only like my second time here,” you somehow manage to say. “I just moved to the island to get my master’s in reef fish conservation.”

His eyebrows shoot up. He looks, you realize, impressed. _Fuck yeah_ , you think. _Science is cool and sexy. Also, he is cool and sexy_.

“That’s fucking awesome,” he says, and he looks so genuine that you feel your face heat up. “Props to you for dedicating your life to saving the environment with science and stuff. I just pick up trash.” He shakes the bag again for emphasis.

“Hey, well, you make my job much easier,” you say. “There is nothing worse than pulling in a net and getting more trash than fish. This is super fucking important. So, uh, thank you for doing it.”

Brick Wall’s smile has enough wattage to power a city. _I have got to learn this man’s name. He cannot be immortalized in my mind as Brick Wall. As appropriate as that is._ Brick Wall opens his mouth to say something when a voice cuts clear across the beach.

“Hey Zack! Quit flirting and come pick up this piece of trash for me! It looks sticky. I don’t wanna touch it.”

The owner of the voice is a guy with the sickest fucking electric blue hair you’ve ever seen. If looks could kill, Brick Wall—no, Zack— would have just nuked this guy. “Shut the fuck up, Alex,” he shouts over his shoulder. “This is why they gave us gloves.”

“Latex gloves smell bad,” Alex hollers back.

You and Zack both watch as another boy with dark hair sneaks up behind Alex, jumps on his back, and sticks his latex-glove-clad hand in Alex’s face.

“SUCK ON THIS!” the assailant shouts.

Alex lets out an ungodly shriek, and the two of them proceed to roll around in the sand, attempting to land as many half-assed punches as possible.

Zack rolls his beautiful hazel eyes so hard as he turns back to you that you’re tempted to ask him what he saw in the back of his skull. You notice that he looks like he’s trying to decide between laughing and committing murder.

“Looks like I gotta get back to babysitting my stupid friends,” he says. “Or,” he adds, and something about his tone of voice makes your heart rate double. “You could join me and we can ditch them?”

Freeze frame. Record scratch.

_No fucking way. NO FUCKING WAY._

A stupidly embarrassing giggle slips out before you can stop it. But, alas, this Hallmark movie appears to be more of a slow burn, because you feel your stomach rumble loudly. You sigh a little to yourself.

 _Typical_.

“I promise this is not a rejection,” you say. “But I am actually starving right now and I gotta get home.”

Zack doesn’t bother to hide his disappointment. Something about his expression gives you a burst of courage. “But if you give me your number, you can tell me when the next clean up is, and I’ll be there.”

His grin comes back full force, and something in your chest explodes. You’ll worry about that later.

Zack passes you his phone. You put in your number and add the little diver emoji after your contact name. Perfect.

“Thanks again for catching me,” you say as you pass back his phone.

“I mean, it is my fault you fell in the first place. But you’re welcome,” he says. His eyes are doing that thing again where they glitter. It’s fucking mesmerizing.

“I’ll see you around?” You say it like a question, which is kind of stupid, since he’s literally just asked you out.

“Yeah,” he says, smile growing. You want to scream at how cute he is. “I’ll text you.”

You grin and then head back up the beach towards home. You’ve just stepped off the sand into the parking lot when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. You smile to yourself and skip the rest of the way home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and I'm sorry <3 but not really


End file.
